Jets expected to go back to 70s/80s logo for Heritage Classic

The Winnipeg Jets are making some announcements regarding this year’s Heritage Classic tomorrow afternoon, including more information on the alumni rosters and the revealing of the day’s jerseys. The stage is being set up today at Portage and Main in anticipation, and… is that the old logo?!

Yes, after years of the team encouraging fans to switch their gear to the RCAF-inspired insignia that the new team wears, to the point of taking throwback gear off the market in the months following the return announcement, it appears that the organization will finally get some mileage out of their first NHL logo.

The crest, which features a deliciously retro font and a plane taking off to the northeast, was introduced in 1974 in the midst of the team’s WHA tenure. It also survived a decade in the NHL, being used from the 1979/80 season until being modernized in 1990/91.

Switching to the new logo was the right call, given its timeless look, nods to our service men and women, and the signaling of a new era for an organization that was technically different from the one that started the NHL dream in town.

While the above uniform is the only one that the Jets ever wore in the NHL with the logo in question, I wouldn’t be shocked to see them dig even further back and pull out a jersey from the WHA era. For starters, it gives a reason for the team to sell a jersey that hasn’t been used in CCM’s NHL Vintage series. A bit less selfishly, though, the Oilers have already used the “NHL throwback” card on switching their home and away jerseys back to the ones they once had, so maybe it makes more sense to let them dig into the archives too. Below are two options for each team that we could see tomorrow:

The classic will be played at Investors Group Field on October 23rd, with the alumni game being played the day prior.